Trade

The agreement between the United States and China to suspend a proposed Jan. 1 tariff boost to 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, including $10 billion of goods used by the home building industry, is a positive development for the home building industry.

The new trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico that will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA has the potential to yield positive developments regarding the ongoing U.S.-Canada lumber trade dispute.

President Trump’s decision yesterday to escalate the trade conflict with China could wind up imposing a $2.5 billion tax increase on residential construction at time when builders are already grappling with higher housing costs.

In an effort spearheaded by NAHB, a dozen Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. Senate on Sept. 11 sent a joint letter to the Trump administration calling on the U.S. to resume softwood lumber trade negotiations with Canada.

NAHB urged caution after President Trump today threatened to impose tariffs on $267 billion worth of Chinese imports that would be in addition $200 billion in duties on Chinese goods that the administration is already considering.

NAHB Chairman Randy Noel, CEO Jerry Howard and senior staff met today with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to discuss the growing problem of escalating lumber prices that are being exacerbated by tariffs on Canadian lumber imports into the U.S.

In an early morning tweet on Friday, President Trump laid out the issues, calling on Canada to “open their markets and take down their trade barriers” and referencing timber and lumber trade imbalances as a factor in sky-high costs.

In his bi-weekly overview of the housing market, NAHB’s chief economist describes the most serious headwind facing housing markets today: the escalation of framing lumber prices — up 59% since the start of 2017.

As the Trump administration weighs imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on U.S. allies, most mainstream economists are warning that such protectionist trade policies will result in harsh negative repercussions for the domestic economy.

But the president insists this course is needed to shore up struggling U.S. industries. So who is right?

NAHB Chairman Randy Noel — citing a real-life lumber tariff situation that has been flying under the radar for more than a year — provides the clear answer in a recent op-ed published in The Hill.